Sparks
by Sealand Rising
Summary: The words of a fairytale, told by her grandfather late at night, plunges Lovina Vargas, the personification of Southern Italy, into a chaotic life full of sacrifices, loss, and lies. Somehow she must find her inner strength to stand up and fight for the survival of a dying world, but in doing so she will lose all that she has ever loved.


**Presenting Sparks! This is my second Fanfiction story and I've finally been able to publish it. Since I love fantasy, this story is going to feature mythical creatures like dragons as well as magic! **

**The main character is Fem! Romano and for once, she has the spotlight and will outshine her brother. Romano is my favorite character in Hetalia and I'm excited to be writing a story where he (as a she!) is going to be the hero of a struggle between good and evil. **

**Let's get to the warnings;**

**Warning! There will be character deaths, cursing (It's Romano!), a tone of blood shredding, distortion of fairytales, violence, really ugly dragons, and whatever else I come up with. Hetalian characters belong to Hidekaz Himaruya and if fairytales can claim copyright, then yeah. I only own the plot and whatever nonsense that sprouted from my mind. **

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Sparks

The sounds of the rain, pattering against the large window, filled the small room, giving the appearance that the storm outside was raging inside. On a window seat, a small child huddled under a mass of blankets, trembling. Lightning flashed outside, lighting up the room and causing a shriek to escape the child's lips. Thunder soon followed and the child pulled her blankets tighter around her shoulders, her chocolate hair flowing over the fabric like a waterfall. Stubbornness edged her delicate features and her eyes seemed to flash with determination. Although her limbs trembled whenever lighting struck the meadow around her house, the child's lips remained in a scowl and she tried to prevent the shrieks of fear from escaping by slapping a hand over her mouth. She was trying so hard to get over her fear of thunderstorms, but so far she was failing miserably.

A flash of lightning struck a large Sicilian Fir in the garden and the close proximity of the flash caused the hair to rise on the child's arms. Thunder roared and the bedroom door slammed open, startling a scream out of the girl. A man dressed in golden armor walked into the room, his red cape flapping and his sword gleaming brightly in the dim room. Scrapes covered the skin that wasn't concealed by his armor, and blood was smeared on his face, giving him a cannibalistic appearance. The child turned to look at the man and her hazel eyes widened at the sight of the blood dripping from his cape and armor.

"Grandpa Rome!" She cried, jumping from the window seat and ran towards the man with the blanket flying from her shoulders. "Are you okay? Why are you covered in blood?!"

"Ciao, Lovina." Rome smiled as his granddaughter stopped in front of him and looked up at him with wide eyes. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"I couldn't sleep." Lovina admitted, lowering her eyes and staring at her dirt covered toes. She had been out gardening all day and would have continued at night if not for the storm. Rome noticed her look and chuckled when he saw the soil on her legs and her clothing.

"Lovina, Lovina," He shook his head, a smile spreading across his face. "What will I have to do to get you out of the weeds?"

"There's no more weeds in the garden." Lovina said proudly. "The garden hasn't had a single weed since I started taking care of it." She grinned up at her grandfather and brushed some dirt off of her dress. "You should see the new white lilies I grew over the summer."

"I would love too." Rome patted Lovina's head and looked over at the nest of pillows his granddaughter had created on the window seat. Shaking his head, Rome pulled off his armor and placed it beside the door before walking over to the window seat, tightening his toga as he went. Lovina stood still for a second, gazing at her reflection in Rome's dirty armor with a slight frown on her face. Her reflection scowled back and after sticking her tongue at it, Lovina went over to where her grandfather was waiting.

Scooping her onto the window seat, Rome placed Lovina in his lap and wrapped his arms around her in a loose, but comforting hug. The storm outside was still raging and the small child trembled in her grandfather's strong arms.

"Lovina, why were you watching the storm?" Rome asked in a low voice, his breath tickling the top of Lovina's head. "I thought you were terrified of them."

"I am," Lovina confirmed, looking down at her dirty crossed legs. "But I would rather face my fears instead of hiding under my bed sheets."

Rome said nothing and just rested his chin on his granddaughter's head, the lightning reflecting in his eyes. For weeks, he'd had something preying on his mind and although he tried not to think about it in depth, he knew that sooner or later he would have to face it. Lovina had just made his final decision for him and he knew that there would be no going back as soon as the truth was revealed. Once he opened his mouth, it would all begin and nothing would ever be the same.

"Lovina," He begin and his granddaughter looked up at him with innocent hazel eyes. He hated to be doing this to her and wanted more than anything in the world for her to keep the innocence in her eyes, but he had no choice. "Would you like to hear a bedtime story?

"Okay, what type?" Lovina asked, bouncing and squirming slightly to get more comfortable.

"A fairytale." Rome replied and Lovina scowled up at him.

"There better not be a damsel in distress." Lovina crossed her arms and gave a pout. "I hate how the girl is always being rescued."

"I hate that too." Rome chuckled, messing up Lovina's hair. "No, there's no damsels in distress in this fairytale."

Lovina leaned back in Rome's chest, enjoying this small amount of attention she was receiving from him. Usually her brother Feliciano, who she hadn't seen years and had probably forgotten about her, was bathing in all the attention he received from their grandfather and although she tried very hard, Lovina could not help but be jealous of her younger brother. It was rare that Grandpa Rome visited her in Southern Italy and it was even rarer that he actually paid attention to her, rather than hiding out from barbarian invaders. Lovina was slightly confused about the sudden display of affection, but she just pushed the negative thoughts to the back of her mind and let Rome begin his story.

"A long time ago, shortly before I was born, Italy was a small country weakened by tribal wars." Rome began, but Lovina interrupted him with a snort.

"That must have been thousands of years ago." She complained. "Ancient history."

"I'm not that old." Rome said with a sniff. "Anyways, Italy was very wild and strange creatures roamed the land."

"Strange creatures?" Lovina asked and Rome let out a sigh at the interruption.

"Creatures of myth and legend, creatures of darkness and light, creatures of good and evil." Rome continued, pulling his granddaughter closer. "Dragons, faeries, unicorns, any mythical creature you can think of. They lived in harmony with one another and conflict rarely broke out among them. For a while, all was peaceful and humans walked side by side among the living legends. No species was greater than the other and they all grew to call each other brothers, but then that all changed."

"A dark dragon by the name of Thyrus appeared out of nowhere and began to spread his ideas of Dragon Superiority amongst the dragon population. Soon prejudice and fear swept across Italy and dragons began a massive genocide against their former brothers." Lovina tilted her head at her grandfather's words and blinked in confusion. All the fairytales that she had heard of previously had never been so dark and to be honest she was slightly spooked by the story.

"Eventually," Rome continued. "The death toll was so great that the unicorns were wiped out and humans were begged to intervene by the remaining survivors of the targeted species. Italy was in the midst of a dark time so they could not afford to send anyone to stop the genocide. So the creatures suffered until one human could stand it no longer."

"Who were they?" Lovina asked, cringing slightly as thunder boomed outside the window.

"Nobody knows exactly," Rome answered, rubbing Lovina's hair in an attempt to comfort her. "But everyone calls him the Draghi. Legend says that he was created out the sparks of hatred, the flames of brutality, and the ashes of the fallen. He was joined by two companions, known as the Fiddler and the Records-keeper who helped him stop the genocide and drive the dragons back from Italy."

"Each of them had a special item that helped them battle the dragons; the Fiddler had an enchanted fiddle that helped him put the dragons in a dream-like trance and unlocked hidden secrets, the Records-keeper had a special book that contained every dragon's weakness which helped him to outwit the dragons in battle, and the Draghi had a legendary sword that could only be wielded by those with a pure heart and gave its master the ability to use magic." Rome listed, counting off on his fingers for emphasis. "With their gifts, the group brought peace to Italy and the genocide was stopped."

"That was an interesting fairytale." Lovina commented, hiding her yawn. "I'm glad it had a happy ending."

Rome looked at her oddly and Lovina scowled at him. Why was he staring at her?

"Lovina, the story's not over yet." Rome said, running a hand through his hair. "Would you like to hear the rest of it?"

"Yes." Lovina replied, wondering what on earth this was about.

"Are you sure? Once I finish the story you can't go back." Rome warned, turning Lovina around so he could gaze into Lovina's eyes. For the first time in years, his face was completely serious and his eyes shone with an emotion Lovina had never seen before. What was such a big deal about this little fairytale?

"Yes, I'm sure." Lovina nodded, wriggling her arms out of her grandfather's grasp. "Now can you finish the story, already?"

"Si, Piccolo." Rome grinned, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "For a while, Italy was peaceful, but Thyrus suddenly appeared, furious that his plan had been ruined. He hunted the Draghi down and a vicious battle took place between them on top of a large cliff. Although he was powerful enough to kill Thyrus, the Draghi found that he could not kill the evil dragon so he sealed Thyrus's soul away with a powerful curse."

"Great, now it's over." Lovina said, trying to jump out of Rome's lap, but he caught her under her arms and hugged her to his chest.

"I'm not done yet." Rome patted Lovina's head, ruffling up her hair. "There was a side effect however. The curse used up all of the Draghi's life force and his body burned up."

"You ruined it!" Lovina cried, batting Rome's hand away. "There was supposed to be a happy ending!"

"Would you let me finish already?!" Rome said, frustrated with all the interruptions. "Lovina, you must learn to not be so impatient and wait."

Giving her grandfather a scowl, Lovina settled down again and rested her head against Rome's chest. Now convinced she was going to let him finish, Rome once again continued on with his story.

"Thyrus and the Draghi were never seen again, but it is believed that the Draghi's soul was still intact after the curse and he was reborn. The legend goes that the Fiddler and the Records Keeper knew who the next Draghi was and swore to protect him from the other world until he was ready to wield the Draghi's sword and the responsibility that came with it. It is unknown if Thyrus will ever rise again, but one thing is for sure; when he does, the new Draghi will meet him once again in a battle to the death." Rome finished up and gently pushed his granddaughter off his lap. "Come on Piccolo, it's time for you to go to bed."

"Are you going to stay with me?" Lovina asked, her hazel eyes pleading for him to stay.

"Sorry Piccolo, I have to leave." Rome said sadly. "I promises your fratello I would go back soon."

"Of course you did." Lovina muttered, crossing her arms. "Why wouldn't you have to go back to Feliciano?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rome asked, standing up and stretching his arms over his head.

"I mean, you spend more time with Feliciano than you do with me." Lovina replied, dropping her gaze to her dirty feet. "It's like you like him better."

"Piccolo, you know that's not true." Rome sighed, recognizing the signs of sibling rivalry. "Rome is in Northern Italy and your fratello just happens to be the country where my capital is."

"Yeah, but still." Lovina protested. "You pay more attention to him than you do to me."

"Piccolo, one of these days you'll realize there is a reason behind everything I did." Rome said sadly and a shudder ran up Lovina's spine at the ominous tone held in her grandfather's tone.

"But-"

"Lovina, go to bed."

"But-"

"Lovina, go to bed!"

"Asshole." Lovina muttered under her breath, turning her back on her grandfather and crawling into her bed. She threw the covers over her head, refusing to let her grandfather see the back of her head. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and Lovina struggled to prevent them from falling.

"Oh Piccolo, mi dispiace." Rome placed a hand on Lovina's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, but the girl refused to acknowledge his touch and remained perfectly still. "Someday it will all make sense."

Rome let out a sigh and walked out of the room, the sounds of his armor clinking in his arms. Lovina continued to remain still under her covers and her small hands curled into fists. It just wasn't fair, what did Feliciano have that she didn't? A small tear escaped her closed lids and this time she didn't hold it back, she let the tears stream down her face like a bitter waterfall. It just wasn't fair.

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**The fairytale that Rome tells Lovina is a myth that I found when I was surfing the web. Apparently, a wyvern named Thyrus was terrorizing a town called Terni and was slayed by an unknown knight. I twisted the myth to fit my story and took creative licensing in adding the Fiddler, the Records-Keeper, and the Draghi into the equation. Italy also has a bunch of stories about saints slaying dragons and the country has a rich culture in dragons and mythical creatures, perfect for my story.**

**I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter and hope to update soon. **


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